Chaos

In XXXXVIII Panzer Corps' sector, chaos reigned. The commanders of both the corps and the 19th Panzer Division were killed in the confusion when their staff cars were ambushed by Soviet tanks. The isolated divisions of the corps fought desperate rearguard actions as they tried to retreat to safety in the south. A gap more than 32km (20 miles) wide had been torn in the German front, and the Soviet First Tank Army was advancing southwards at breakneck speed to exploit this very favourable situation. The Fifth Guards Tank Army was following close behind, ready to swing eastwards and encircle Kharkov itself.

Field Marshal Erich von Manstein now started to muster his panzer strike force to seal the gap in the line and defeat the Soviet tank armies. III Panzer Corps under Lieutenant-General Hermann Breith was ordered to take charge of the operation to defeat the Soviet thrust. He was to have the Totenkopf, Das Reich and Wiking Divisions for the mission, as well as the 3rd Panzer Division. However, at this time all the Waffen-SS divisions were still en route by train from the Izyum and Mius Fronts. In the meantime, the 3rd Panzer Division would have to hold the ring as best it could.

Although it could only put 35 tanks in the field, the 3rd Panzer Division was a seasoned unit and it put up a good fight, staging a rearguard action on 5 August against a push by the Soviet XVIII Tank Corps of the Fifth Guards Tank Army. The division repulsed this attack, and became a firm anchor on the right flank of III Panzer Corps.

Farther to the west, there were no German forces to stop the First Tank Army seizing the key rail junction at Bogodukhov on 6 August. Over the next two days the lead elements of the Das Reich Division started to arrive south of Kharkov, and they were fed piecemeal into the battle to try to shore up the front to the west of the city. Luftwaffe aerial reconnaissance was providing Breith with valuable photographs that showed thousands of Russian tanks moving southwards to the west of Kharkov.

Saving Kharkov

By 8 August Das Reich was deployed in strength, with four Tigers and 20 assault guns in action. Even though its panzer regiment was still to arrive, the division was able to inflict heavy losses on the Soviet III Mechanized Corps and XXXI Tank Corps, which were spearheading the First Tank Army's advance. VI Tank Corps, however, was still advancing southwards unopposed.

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